There was a time when game shows ruled the Sunday noontime slot.
Back in the 1970s, there was Jeanne Young’s “Spin-A-Win” whose winning format was similar to “Wheel of Fortune”.
For most of the ‘80s and the early ‘90s, there was Pepe Pimentel’s “Family Kuwarta O Kahon”, which also involved a spinning roulette and more than held its own against German Moreno’s top-rated “GMA Supershow.”
This June, TV5 wants viewers to put their game faces on as it debuts “Game N’ Go”, a new Sunday afternoon game show hosted by Edu Manzano and Joey de Leon.
The show, which was still in development when it had its trade launch last February, is finally ready for broadcast on June 17.
Perci Intalan, TV5’s head for creative and entertainment production, admitted that it took a while to “cook” the show’s “buffet of treats”. “Game N’ Go” offers something different from the usual musical fare of current Sunday noontime rivals, ABS-CBN’s “ASAP” and GMA Network’s “Party Pilipinas.”
“‘Game N’ Go’ combines the elements of a variety show, a game show and comedy sketch,” Intalan revealed. “In addition to our regular contestants, we will have celebrity guest players, live bands and local and international performers gracing our show as well.”
In addition to Joey and Edu who will act as “Game Makers,” the show also features
designated “Game Keepers” Arnell Ignacio, Gelli De Belen and Shalani Soledad-Romulo.
During the show’s press preview, Joey De Leon said he was glad to work with people he already has “connections” with, citing Gelli who was a fellow cast member in the gag show “Nuts Entertainment”, Arnell who was a rival host in the defunct noontime show “Chibugan Na!”, and Shalani, who is now married to Rep. Roman Romulo, who happens to be a nephew of the outspoken comedian.
Joey also said that while this is his first time to work with Edu, he has become quite fond of the latter. “At hindi lang dahil pareho kami ng model at kulay ng sasakyan. Napamahal na si Edu sa kin kasi ang initial niya na E.M., ‘yun din ang initials ni Eileen Macapagal,” the comedian cracked, in reference to his wife.
For his part, Edu said he considers it “a personal achievement to be able to work with Joey.” “Iba yung genius ni Joey De Leon,” Edu admitted.
“He constantly thinks outside the box and helps in coming up with new concepts for our audience. I’m a very big fan of his newspaper column, and I also like the poems that he comes up with.”
Gelli, one of the very first talents of TV5 in the groundbreaking gag show “Tropang Trumpo”, echoed Edu’s sentiments. She added that the comedian and TV host is a lot deeper than most people think.
“Nakita ko ang lalim ni Joey. Mahaba ang pasensya ng taong yan. Joey is always thinking, always planning, always writing. Even in his car, may notebook ‘yan to write anything that comes to his mind,” she shared.
For her part, Shalani said she’s also excited to be working with Joey for the very first time and does not mind at all the sometimes off-color humor that the latter is known for. “Alam ni Joey kung paano magdala ng kasama,” she quipped.
When asked for the difference between Joey and her former “Will Time BigTime” co-host, Willie Revillame, Shalani deadpanned, “Joey doesn’t break into a song and dance number.”
More than just the hilarious banter and the guest performers, Intalan said that it’s the game portions that will hook audiences.
These portions include “True or Fall,” where contestants who fail to answer a question correctly will fall in the trap doors they’re standing on; “Pritong Pares” where the losing pair will get an electric jolt every time they get the wrong answers; “Singgalingo,” a videoke singing contest where the prizes get bigger as the singing pitch gets higher, and “Tsinelas Vs. Peste,” where one team wearing tsinelas bodysuits will try to flatten or defend the pestes (guys wearing insect bodysuits) while another team tries to defend them.
“This is why ‘Game N’ Go’ took a while to finally air after it was first launched because the show went through a lot of development,” Intalan further explained.
“We revisited the original concept, made some changes and further improved the games. We didn’t think it would be this big, but I’m confident to say that we’re very much ready and excited to bring the show into everyone’s homes.”
